Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Almost every Sunday, as I'm planning our menu for the upcoming week, my conversation with T goes like this.  

ME: "Hey, what do you want for dinner this week?"
T: "Asian"
ME: "Okay, well, like what kind of Asian? That's very broad."
T: "Lettuce wraps."
ME: "Ugh, I hate making lettuce wraps, think of something else" 

But last week, I finally did it.   Made a lettuce wrap recipe that I liked.   I've always hated making these in the past.   It takes forever to cut up all that raw chicken in to itty bitty pieces, I can never get the sauce to reduce enough so they're drippy and make a huge soy sauce mess, and they're just not that good.   But then I stumbled upon Gwyneth Paltrow's recipe for lettuce wraps, and decided it was high time to give these another shot.  If anyone's going to have a good recipe for these, it's going to be Gwyn.  And guess what, she didn't disappoint!   These hit all the marks for me.  Easy to prep, they call for ground chicken so no dicing of raw meat involved, they have a nice thick sauce, so no drips, and they were absolutely delicious.   I did make several tweaks to the recipe though, simplifying it a bit. Ain't nobody got time for making their own Sriracha and Hoisin sauce. 






Chicken Lettuce Wraps
(Adapted from Gwyneth Paltrow's Lettuce Wraps)

Neutral oil (canola, grapeseed, or safflower)
1 lb. ground chicken
Coarse sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 yellow onion, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 tbsp ginger, finely minced
1/3 c. shredded carrots
1/2 c. hoisin sauce
1 head bibb or butter lettuce
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Sriracha 



Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken along with a healthy pinch of salt and pepper. Cook stirring occasionally to break up the chicken. Cook until the liquid has released and then evaporated, about 10-15 minutes.
In another pan, heat some oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook and stir until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots and a pinch of salt, and cook until the carrot softens, about 10 minutes. Combine with the chicken. Add 1/2 cup hoisin and 1/2 cup water. Stir and cook for 1-2 more minutes until the sauce thickens. Serve in lettuce cups and top with Sriracha and scallions.



3 comments:

  1. These sound delicious! I am going to have to give them a try - ground chicken = genius!

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  2. These sound super tasty! At least you can get your husband to respond to meal planning questions... mine just says "I don't know"

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  3. Can't believe I didn't recommend these to you sooner! I've been making these since her cookbook came out! Love it! And yes, not making any sauce over here...

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